Diagnosing Psychological Disorders

• Domains of assessment include psychophysiological assessment used for nervous system activity.

Psychophysiological Assessment

• Assesses brain structure, function, and nervous system activity.
• Includes electroencephalogram (EEG) for brain wave activity.
• Heart rate and respiration indicate cardiorespiratory activity.
• Electrodermal response measures sweat gland activity.
• Electromyography (EMG) measures muscle tension.
• Plethysymograph measures sexual arousal.

Diagnosing Psychological Disorders

• Involves clinical assessment versus psychiatric diagnosis.
• Assessment uses an idiographic approach, focusing on unique traits.
• Diagnosis is made after assessment.
• The nomothetic approach applies general knowledge about people.
• This helps to see if specific problems fit a general class.
• Both approaches are important in treatment planning.

Diagnostic Classification

• Classification is central to science.
• Categories develop based on shared attributes.

Terminology of Classification Systems

• Taxonomy refers to classification in a scientific context.
• Nosology refers to taxonomy in a psychological or medical context.
• Nomenclature refers to nosological labels.
• An example would be "panic disorder".

Classification Systems

• International Classification of Diseases (ICD-11) is published by the World Health Organization.
• Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders (DSM) is published by the American Psychiatric Association.
• The current version is DSM-5, published in 2013.

Nature and Forms of Classification Systems

• The classical categorical approach uses yes/no decisions.
• Each disorder is viewed as fundamentally different.
• It assumes a clear underlying cause.
• The individual must meet all requirements for classification.
• Useful in medicine, but inappropriate for the complexity of psychological disorders.
• The dimensional approach classifies along dimensions.
• Symptoms or disorders exist on a continuum.
• A patient creates a profile to represent functioning.
• The number of dimensions required aren't agreed upon.
• Prototypical approach combines classical and dimensional.
• It's categorical (yes/no), but the individual does not have to fit every symptom.
• The patient must meet minimal prototype criteria.
• This creates within-category heterogeneity.

Purposes and Evolution of the DSM

• The DSM system aids in communication.
• It evaluates prognosis and the need for treatment, and plans treatement.
• DSM-1 (1952) and DSM-2 (1968) relied on unproven theories and were unreliable.
• DSM-3 (1980) and DSM-4 (2000) were atheoretical.
• Emphasis on clinical description lacked underlying etiology.
• Detailed criterion sets for disorders.
• Emphasis on reliability but had questions about validity.
• DSM-5 (2013) emphasizes that most symptoms aren't specific to a single disorder.
• It introduces new dimensional measures that exist across disorders.

Research Methods

• Science seeks to address what problems cause impairment, why people behave in unusual ways, and how can people behave.

Basic Components of Research

• Starts with a hypothesis or "educated guess."
• Not all hypotheses are testable.
• Hypotheses can be rejected or accepted.

Research Design

• A method is used to test a hypothesis.
• The independent variable causes or influences behavior.
• The dependent variable is influenced by the independent variable.
• For example, exercise reduces depression.

Research Design Considerations

• Balancing internal versus external validity is important.
• Internal validity asks if the independent variable produced the outcomes.
• External validity, or are the findings generalizable.
• It can be applied to other settings, locations, samples, and problems.
• Internal validity is increased by minimizing confounds.
• Control groups are used.
• They are identical except one is not exposed.
• Use random assignment procedures to either group.
• Analog models study related phenomena in controlled conditions.

Internal and External Validity

• They can be at odds.
• Want to control impact results.
• Researchers work hard to balance these competing needs by designing multiple studies.

Statistical Methods

• A branch of mathematics which helps to protect against biases in evaluating data.

Statistical and Clinical Significance.

• Statistical significance addresses if the results are due to chance.
• This includes size of the effect, level of significance, and sample size.
• Clinical significance measures if the results are clinically meaningful.

Relations

• Evaluate effect size and less on sample size

Studying Individual Cases; Case Study Method

• Uses extensive observation and detailed description of a client.
• This is the foundation for early developments in psychopathology.
• It lacks scientific rigor and suitable controls.

Limitations

• Often entails numerous confounds and findings unique to the individual.
• More inference from “researcher."

Research By Correlation

• Statistical relation exists between two or more variables.
• No independent variable is manipulated.

Correlation and Causation

• There is a problem of directionality.
• Correlation does not mean causation.

Nature of Correlation

• Ranging from -1.0 - +1.0
• There's negative versus positive correlation.

Correlations

• Ethics and lack of manipulation occurs.
• Can randomly assign individuals to groups and can't manipulate.

Epidemiological research

• Study incidence, prevalence, and course of disorders.
• Incidence is the number of new cases during a specific time.
• Prevalence is the number of people with a disorder at a given time.
• Includes distribution and what factors are associated with frequency.

Nature of Experimental Research

• Involves manipulation of independent variables, like therapies, meds, or exercise.
• Involves random assignment and attempts to establish causal relations.
• Emphasizes internal validity.

Group Experimental Designs

• Control groups are necessary to show that the independent variable is responsible for observed changes.
• Placebo and double blind controls are used.
• The placebo group ensures that the treatment effect isn't due to expectation.
• Easy to do with medications, less so with psychological treatment and therapies.
• Double blind: both researchers and participants are unaware of their group assignment.

Treatment Designs

• Often the next step after showing that treatment is better than placebo.
• Compares different forms of treatment in similar people such as psychotherapy versus medication.
• Addresses treatment outcome.

Dismantling Studies

• Break study into parts.
• Focus only on certain aspects to figure out the “active” components.

Single-Case Experimental Designs

• Study individuals under a variety of conditions or rigorous study of single cases.
• Manipulate experimental conditions and time with repeated measurement.

Single Subject Design

• Withdrawal designs: includes baseline, treatment, withdrawal.
• Multiple Baseline Designs: Dont start and stop treatment

Genetic Research Strategies

• Behavioral Genetics: interaction among genes, experience, and behavior.

Gene Expression

• Phenotype: observable characteristics or behavior.
• Genotype: genetic makeup of an individual, such as in Down syndrome.

Strategies in Genetic Research

• Family Studies: examine behavioral pattern in family members with Schizophrenia and alcohol use.
• Adoptee Studies: allows separation of environmental and genetic contributions.
• Twin Studies: evaluate psychopathology in fraternal versus identical twins.
• Results assume that MZ twins are NOT treated any more similarly than DZ twins.

Time Based Research Strategies

• Cross-Sectional Designs: Take cross section of the population.
• Cohort effect confounds effect of age and experience.
• Longitudinal Designs: One group over time.

Studying Behavior Across Cultures

• It tells about origins of treatment
• It helps overcome ethnocentric research.

Cross-Cultural Research

• Clarify how psychopathology manifests in different ethnic groups.
• Treatment exists within cultural context.

Programmatic Research

• No one study will definitively answer the question.
• Studies asking different questions.
• Each study is often replicated.

Anxiety and Fear

• Anxiety: future-oriented mood state, characterized by negative affect and tension. Apprehension is future danger.
• Fear: present-oriented mood state with immediate fight or flight response.
• Strong avoidance tendencies and sympathetic nervous system activation.
• Both are normal.

Anxiety Disorders

• Symptoms of anxiety and fear involved avoidant and disturbance.

Biological Contributions

• Inherit to activate it with a trigger.

Biological Causes

• Anxiety and brain circuits: GABA. noradrenergic, and serotonergic systems.
• Lower levels/sensitivity more anxiety; higher levels more anxiety.
• Behavioral Inhibition System: Activated by signals.
• Environmental factors impact more or less likely to develop it.

Views

• Early infant fears and behaviors result in what follows it.

Psychological Views

• Early Experiences and parents can pass it on.

Social Contirbutions

• Stressful life events trigger

Anxiety Disorders

• Comorbidity suggests common factors across anxiety disorders.
• Evidence suggests a strong link between anxiety and depression.

Generalized Anxiety Disorder

• Depression and uncontrollable nervous.
• Occurs across many days.
• Causes other factors that can effect the disorder.

Statistics of GAD

• Can effect general population with many origins.

Causes

• Can be traced back to genetics with behavioral inhibitors.

Treatments for GAD

• Mildly effective medicine and psychological.

Panic Disorder

• Periods of intense fear or discomfort

Anxiety Disorders

• Can be for a 1 or more of attacks with maladaptive behaviors.

Statistics

• There can be multiple attacks.

Features

• Can include physical attacks, concerns, and medications.

Overreactive

• Is possible for "Overreactive" panic with events.

Treatment

• Is to treat systems in therapy.

Anxiety

• Is to pair it with relaxation strategies.

Should Take

• Anti-anxiety meds during the process.

Phobias

• Trigger intese and irrational fear with significant distress.

Statistics

• Its over represented with phobias.

Phobias

• They can stem from injuries.

Phobias

• Associated Features
• Anxiety and judgement of others.

Features

• Anxious or can cause a distress.
• Have 75% overepresentation by 2:1 ratio.

Anxiety

• Evolutionary, social performance
• Is to reduce axienty.

Treatment

• Is highly effective.

Obsessive

• Persistent Intrusive Thoughts and repetitive
• Are time consuming.

Specifier

• Belief probably true" and can cause that.

Causes

• Occurs often in the form of OCD and that can result in the obsession.

Treamtent

• Benifits of 60% in some cases and medications.

PTSD

• Exposer to actual or threatened violence w/Intrusive symptoms.

Anxiety

• Thoughts or mood or for 1 months or more.

Psychological

• Symptoms with younger age.

Posttraumatic

• Challenge thouhts and emotins.

Tretment

• SSRIS meds.

Disorders

• Are those with major or persistent.

Depression

• Has over 5 symptoms must be there with at least one with depressed interest.

Episode

• Recurring is high and people recover with life events but severe threat.

Features

• Fewer symptoms that causes it to stay there.

Mood

• Cycle causes anger or conflict.

Prevalence

• Of people with significant heretiability.

Isorder

• 1 is to have one or more.

Cycle

• Has increased goal directed.

Disorder Facts

• 90% of cases tend to be chronic.

Criteria

• It effects the treatment.

Influence

• Occurs through out.

Balance

• Occurs when in balance.

The Role

• Occurs and that influences a wide range.

View

• With the person and in social cultures.

Related

• To those with all aspects.

Meds

• That are trycyclic.

Meds

• That causes and results can be good or negative.

Disorders

• Is one with medication.